For more than six hours, the spirit of the June 12 struggle was reawaken in Ikorodu as chieftains and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as residents staged a marathon solidarity march to mark the 25th anniversary of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was widely regarded as the freest and fairest election in the history of Nigeria, won by late M.K.O Abiola.
This year’s celebration of the June 12 anniversary was unique due to the June 6, 2018, pronouncement by President Muhammadu Buhari led federal Government that the historic date would replace May 29th as the Democracy Day and the conferment of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic [GCFR], the highest national award exclusively reserved for the president of the country, on late Abiola in honour of his landslide victory at the June 12, 1993 presidential election which was wrongfully annulled by the military government headed by General Ibrahim Babangida .
To celebrate this unique feat, Ikorodu APC faithful and other residents on Tuesday, June 8, 2018, turned out enmasse to participate in a solidarity march across major streets in Ikorodu in honor of the annulled election and its presumed winner.
The historic solidarity march, which recorded a mammoth attendance of participants across the six councils in Ikorodu division, was organized by Hon. S.O.B Agunbiade, the Majority Leader of the Lagos State House Assembly and representative of Ikorodu Constituency I, through his re-election team known as “Team SOB.”
The event was also used to eulogise the duo of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in recognition of their roles in the national honour given to June 12 and Late MKO Abiola.
As early as 7am on that day, residents and APC supporters had started trooping into Ikorodu garage roundabout, the meeting point of the march rally, and by 9am,the entire place had been jampacked with massive crowd of people most of whom were displaying placards and banners with different messages like: “Thank you Asiwaju Tinubu for liberating Ikorodu Constituency”, “On Asiwaju mandate we stand”, “Asiwaju is our national leader”, “MKO Abiola lives on”, “Thank you President Muhammadu Buhari for honouring MKO Abiola, the hero of June 12 and Nigeria Democracy”, and many more.
There were also several giant banners with pictures of President Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Late Abiola as well as appreciative messages, strategically mounted at the venue.
Meanwhile, at exactly 9.20am, the rally was declared open with the singing of the National Anthem after which a member of the Team SOB led the gathering in singing several solidarity songs to invoke the memories and spirit of the June 12 struggle and this was followed by speeches by some selected individuals. First to speak was Asipa Kaoli Olusanya, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives and Vice-Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos East Senatorial District. He eulogized the sacrifices paid by MKO Abiola and other heroes and heroines of the June 12.
“It is my pleasure this morning to address this mammoth crowd in celebrating the memory of the freest election in the history of Nigeria which was held in 1993”, he stated.
“The road that we are the threading today was paved by the blood, sweat and resources of some of our heroes, dead and living. Today, we should remember them, learn from history as well as deepen and strengthen our democracy in Nigeria.
“I want to identify and mention our martyr, Bashorun Moshood Abiola, who sacrificed all that we may have the democracy that we are enjoying today. He was denied the mandate for 25years and just now, he has been recognized by somebody who has the fear of God and responded to the wishes of the people to give us what we have been yearning and asking for which is the recognition of Abiola and others who paid the supreme sacrifice for what we are enjoying today in Nigeria.
“Abiola didn’t just sacrifice himself for us, but in like manner, his wife, Kudirat Abiola, paid with her blood. She refused to run away, rather she stayed to fight for the good course with her husband despite knowing that she would be killed. So also was that erudite lawyer and Senior Advocate of the Masses, Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who was dogged and tenacious. He was in court all the time challenging the annulment of June 12 and all the impunity and violation during the military regime and also fighting for democratic rule in Nigeria.
“He died for us to have today, likewise, many other heroes sacrificed for what we are experiencing today with their resources, efforts and lives. Their death must not be in vain. We also remember Pa Abraham Adesanya, the “Apa Maku of Nigeria” (the one that refused to die in the hands of the oppressors). He was persecuted and knocked down severally and yet, he did not abdicate the struggle.
“He never abandoned the June 12 struggle. We are remembering them today and learning from them so that all of us may put our hands on deck to deepen our democracy for the betterment of you and me and the entire masses.
Asipa Olusanya also paid a glowing tribute to the role played by the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in June 12 struggle and the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria.
“We also have living heroes of this struggle, in particular, one dogged, tenacious and forth right fighter who refused and can never be suppressed, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu”, he said to the cheering crowd.
When the struggle was very hot, tense and deadly, he engaged in the struggle, spending his resources, time, energy and intellect for the actualization of what we are all enjoying today. He is a symbol of June 12 struggle too. Perhaps, if such people did not sacrifice and pay the price, we may not be where we are today. We are here today because of their sacrifices. A group of people designed this road we are walking today. They labored and constructed this road to the democracy we are witnessing.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on the good people of Ikorodu and resourceful youths of Ikorodu to join hands with us in politics. Politics is not a dirty game, it’s a matter of choice, perception and ideology. We may not necessarily share same ideas, but we can resolve, navigate and dialogue on ways to move Ikorodu, Lagos State and our country forward,” he appealed.
The new state vice chairman of the ruling party also used the occasion to call on the aggrieved members of the party to join hands with the national leader of the party Asiwaju Tinubu and others in moving the party forward.
Also, Dr. Abiodun Fatai Abatan, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU), addressed the gathering.
His words, “We are here today, not only because we are celebrating June 12 and the National-honor and recognition recently bestowed on the symbol of the struggle, but also for the fact that it has ushered in democracy in Nigeria”.
“June 12 is the mother of May 29, it was the struggle that many embarked upon after the unjust annulment of the June 12 election that ushered in May 29. Without June 12, in which Abiola paid the ultimate price, there would have been no May 29. June 12 has given us a template to bring ourselves together as one regardless of our ideologies, principles and whether we are in APC which used to be a southwest party but which today is a National party. The solidarity we shared in voting massively for Abiola in 1993 should be rekindled and resonated, not only in our democratic ideals alone but also in terms of our collective aspirations to having true leadership ; commitment to the development of Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole and on the basis of that, I want to appeal to the people of Ikorodu to always reason together and vote for the people with the right ideology.
“Somebody like Hon. Sanai Agunbiade played a bigger role when the struggle was on. We were here today (Ikorodu garage round – about) and at Ojota when the struggle was on. People with antecedent and pedigree should be given the opportunity to serve us more”.
While also speaking at the rally, Comrade Sesan Daini, the former speaker of the students’ Representative Council of the University of Lagos Students Union and currently, the Chairman of the Igbogbo\Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA), appreciated the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, for declaring June 12 as public holiday.
“I want to thank the Governor of Lagos State for declaring today as a public holiday despite the position of the federal Government that we cannot have two democracy day in a year”.
“We are having today as the culmination of the struggle of 25 years. Children born in 1993 are today 25 years old while those that were the youngest eligible voters then at 18 years are today 43 years old. This implies that everybody alive in 1993 are today eligible to vote.
“I want to equally say that what President Buhari has done is not only to remember June 12 and Abiola, it has also increased the economic value of the country. One of the major factors of nation’s growth and development is history, and by this singular act, he has awaken our historical consciousness. He has revived June 12 and today, we can conveniently give our children good narration about what the day actually stands for, so that they can learn some positive lessons thereof.
The President has also helped in taking us back to our history and development of tourism and entertainment in the country with the recognition of M.K.O Abiola and June 12.
“I challenge our movie makers and others involved in intellectual works to go into the archive and history to document and narrate June 12 to our children and generation yet unborn.
“This would let Nigerians and the entire world know what we sacrificed for democracy and in sustaining its ideals”, Daini stated.
After the speeches, the crowd marched from Ikorodu garage round-about through Ayangbure road, where they had a brief stopover to pay homage and take a group photograph at the frontage of the Ayangbure Palace, to Ojogbe junction from where they connected Oriwu Road and moved through Ita-Elewa Square down to Ota-Ona and marched through Awolowo Way before finally berthing at the Fuwagbuyi Court, the Secretariat of APC in Ikorodu, where they were received by a jubilating crowd of APC supporters led by Princess Adenrele Ogunsanya, former Secretary to the Lagos State Government and a Chieftain of APC.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Honourable Azeez Jimoh Olosugbo, the Director – General of Onward which is the operational arm of Hon. Sanai Agunbiade and also the Director of Planning and Logistics, Team SOB, he stated that the rally was about the celebration of the ideals of the democracy which late Chief Abiola and Asiwaju Tinubu and others represent.
“We are remembering the ideals and principles of our democratic struggle as represented by the late hero of our democracy, Chief Moshood Abiola, who lost his life during the struggle to revalidate the mandate freely given to him by the millions of Nigerians in 1993.
“We have also gathered to celebrate and honor our own national and visionary leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, who also fought gallantly for the revalidation of June 12 and the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria. He nurtured the most ideological and progressives party in modern day Nigeria from the era of Alliance for Democracy (AD) into a truly National party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We are celebrating the doggedness of Tinubu and thanking him for giving the common men hope for a better party and country.
“The people of Ikorodu division and our great party are solidly behind him as we have shown with this solidarity march. Our resolve and commitment to his leadership role and ideals are genuine,” he stated.
Also, in her own brief remark, Princess Ogunsanya described the celebration of June 12 as “recognition of Nigeria’s unity and resolve of millions of people to vote freely”.